Thirty million American women suffer from symptoms of vaginal relaxation and stress urinary incontinence. Many women have difficulty controlling their urine in certain situations like walking or coughing or they may notice changes in their bowel habits. These two symptoms may be related to a common set of problems that may occur as a result of childbirth, aging, sagging, or a combination of all three. Grouped together these problems are referred to as pelvic relaxation.
Many women suffer unnecessarily from conditions involving pelvic relaxation. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment will often restore patients to a life free of the aggravations and discomforts associated with pelvic relaxation.
The pelvic organs include the vagina, uterus, bladder, and rectum. These organs are held in position by three types of supports: 1) muscles, 2) sheets of tissue called fascia 3) and ligaments. When these supports become damaged, one or more of the pelvic organs my sag and occasionally even protrude outside the vagina. These are called pelvic support defects.
For all practical purposes, definitive treatment is surgical correction of the specific defects.
